I dunno. I think Sara started showing signs of what we all hate in the adult version of the show - only we think it's cute on a kid.

I don't really think so. She wasn't mean spirited or bitchy. The only time I recall her saying anything negative about her competitors was when the judges asked her direct questions to solicit those responses.

I remain on the fence about Sara. At first she seemed like she was going to be a nasty little thing but she seems to have mellowed. Maybe she initially felt defensive since she's the smallest/youngest one. I really continue to enjoy how these kids have such good sportsmanship.

I was sad to see the one little girl eliminated this week (d'oh - forgot names - she was the smaller one).

I remain on the fence about Sara. At first she seemed like she was going to be a nasty little thing but she seems to have mellowed. Maybe she initially felt defensive since she's the smallest/youngest one. I really continue to enjoy how these kids have such good sportsmanship.

I was sad to see the one little girl eliminated this week (d'oh - forgot names - she was the smaller one).

Dara is her name I think. I didn't think she deserved to go, maybe eliminate Troy instead.

I know it's been said before, but I love seeing the judges/chefs helping the kids when they get in a mess.

Poor Sofia completely screwed up with her batter for the cakes and Gordon stepped in and helped her start over. She still got eliminated, but at least her confidence wasn't totally shot. Of course, she couldn't have won the challenge because that would have been unfair, but at least she was able to present a finished product.

__________________"YOU! YES YOU! STAND STILL, LADDIE""How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?"

Yeah, Kaylen. Thanks. (I have CRS and all these names just mess with me)

I think Kaylen should have stayed, plus I really like the kid.

I like Dara too, but I'm totally OVER that Minnie Mouse giant bow (or whatever that is). Looks like she has a whole wardrobe of those. Oh well - it's kind of cute. I just get bored with things that are done ad nauseam.

I hate cooking, but must be missing something "obvious". Why is a layer cake significantly harder than N * regular cake?

When you back a cake, it isn't flat on top. So when you put the layers on top of each other, you have to shave off parts of the layers to get them to sit evenly. That is tough to do. Usually folks end up with leaning towers of cake, like these kids did.

Additionally the icing has to be thick enough so when you put it between the layers it doesn't just squirt out the sides. But not too thick that it loses its creaminess.

When you back a cake, it isn't flat on top. So when you put the layers on top of each other, you have to shave off parts of the layers to get them to sit evenly. That is tough to do. Usually folks end up with leaning towers of cake, like these kids did.

Additionally the icing has to be thick enough so when you put it between the layers it doesn't just squirt out the sides. But not too thick that it loses its creaminess.

It helps to put a drop of icing on the plate to hold it, then put the bottom layer upside down. That gives a flat surface on which to lay the icing and next layer.

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Stacey

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The kids were incredible (as usual) in the restaurant takeover challenge, but what 's with the timeline trickery? When they got to the restaurant, they were told they'd be doing lunch service, but when it was done, they called it dinner service and it was dark outside.
Makes me wonder what happened on that day of production.

__________________discipuli nostrum bardissimi sunt.
- Assuming based on evidence is not the same as knowing.
- If you want to argue with me at least use some actual facts instead of making it up.

I think Troy should've gotten the axe. Too cocky and kind of a know it all.

I'm of mixed opinion on that one. Of those three on that team, Troy was, arguably, the strongest cook on the team, which should be the key factor. As bad as I felt for Sarah seeing her eliminated, and as good as she is for her age, she's not as strong as the other contestants... and Gavin let himself get run over by Troy.

Still, Troy was a bit of a bully to Sarah. I wanted to smack him by the end of the restaurant challenge.

I don't think he was cocky, more like entitled. He should have gone.. alone.

I had figured that Troy was going to go just for his apparent bullying of Sarah. I figured that Gavin would be gone because he didn't take advantage of being the captain of the team and certainly didn't help to reign in Troy (which led to Sarah being upset and ignored when she shouldn't have been).

I don't know that Sarah could have won, but I don't think Troy deserved to stay.

I'm also finding myself disappointed more and more with Alexander. He seemed to have a decent chance of winning a few episodes ago, but in the last couple of shows he has not performed well at all and actually seems to have badly regressed.

I was very surprised that Sarah named Troy to win after he was so nasty to her through the whole episode. He wouldn't even let her talk!

Maybe it wasn't as bad in reality as it was made to look from the editing.

It was a rough team with a 9 and 10 yr old and Troy. The other team had a 12 and a 13 plus Jack.

While he should have spoken more civilly to her, I thought Troy just wanted it right while Sarah was doing things that would have been a mistake (didn't she want to put the fish in before the oil was hot enough?). Right or wrong, he also didn't have faith that she could replicate the plating. Remember, he's just a kid also; because they handle themselves so well in the kitchen doesn't mean they handle this kind of stress and pressure like an adult would (should).

Funny how they probably made it look like it was really close so that viewers couldn't totally see that the red team was kicking arse.

I agree that Troy should have probably gone home. Granted he was trying to fix things but hammering her relentlessly wasn't going any good. She's a little kid. Instead of getting a lightbulb (which she finally did later on) that if she just listen to the older kids and work as a team member, she was defiant and pouty. The team leader should have stepped up more, given tasks based on strengths, and kept things together. That might have held his spot but his weak leadership was his downfall.

I'll say I am glad that she is gone. Something about her I found grating.

I'd love to see Alexander and Jack as the final two. I think they are the best of the bunch. The hard part is that I would want them both to win. The other hard part is knowing that the two I consider the best two never seem to end up in the end.

ETA - I just had to come back to say that I think Sarah really held it together when she could have either gone off on a rage or just cried the whole time. When they were asked how everything was, she held her head high and just acted like everything was fine. Unfortunately, her young age didn't allow her to pull it the rest of the way together and perform. I need to realize that she was being stronger than I probably gave her credit for, all along.

One Sarah remark cracked me up - "I've been cooking for six years". That's 2/3 of her life so I could see what that meant to her. I don't know how you cook when you're 3, but these kids develop a lot earlier than we did back in my day.

One Sarah remark cracked me up - "I've been cooking for six years". That's 2/3 of her life so I could see what that meant to her. I don't know how you cook when you're 3, but these kids develop a lot earlier than we did back in my day.

I was reading when I was three. I don't see why a three-year old couldn't start learning how to do stuff in the kitchen. Baking, especially, since an adult can do the part that involves transferring the pans to and from the hot oven.

Apart from developing a palate, there are two cooking skills that need a little maturity -- knife skills, and fire safety skills. You need the dexterity to handle knives, and to work around hot things and not burn yourself. (I'll leave it to the parents to address the issues of how old their kids were before they showed this maturity.)

Kids too young for knife skills can still prep some vegetables (tearing salad leaves, snapping beans), learn to measure and stir, and learn to season and taste. Experimenting with combining flavors, and developing the palate, could easily start as young as three, and that's really what 'being a chef' (as opposed to following someone else's recipe by rote) is all about.

IMHO we hold kids back from doing a lot of things they could do, because we assume they can't do it, set them up to fail, or don't treat the failure as a learning experience.

Obviously these kids are the ones who are the equivalent of book-learners who would go on to graduate school, but that doesn't mean other kids couldn't learn some of these skills, too.

__________________
"The capacity of human beings to disappoint me is never ending." -- Ereth